October 2, 2025

September 30th marks the one year anniversary of when this great adventure for me actually started - when the ship sailed out of Belfast Boatyard.

There were a lot of festivities on Board the ship, on this Sea Day. They started at 10 am with a trivia contest with our COO Mike & CEO Kathy, on Ship and Resident Facts, over the last year. They were playing against each other and Kathy's memory was by far better and luckier in her guesses, than Mike. Then their was a mural painting and numerous cocktail parties of various groups, all coming together at Dinner time, for one giant seating of 350 Residents in the Thistle Restaurant  for a special gala dinner, complete with cake. This was then followed by a fantastic pool party, on the upper deck, with the music again by DJ Shanti. The Residents and CREW all got to party, dance and drink together in a fantastic harmony until Midnight and the party even continued much later for some into the wee hours of morning! It was a FUN day with a great group of people, I so wish you could all experience!

2nd YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SAILING THE WORLD

By Pat Patrick • October 1, 2026
WOW!! I can't believe it has been two years of sailing around the World already for me and my fellow shipmates on the Villa Vie Odyssey! We left Belfast, Ireland back on September 30, 2024 and it has been such a great adventure to date! We have been to 201 different ports, some more than once, during those two years, with much more to come!

APOPO, SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

By Pat Patrick • September 29, 2026
Before coming to Cambodia , I sadly have to admit I was unaware of the landmine problems they face. On our first night in Siem Reap, where we hiked up the hill to try and see the sunset views, there was a small band of men playing instruments and our tuk tuk driver explained to me they were victims of landmine explosions who had lost limbs or their sight and were trying to make money via donations to support their families.

Ta Prohm Temple ( AKA Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), CAMBODIA

By Pat Patrick • September 28, 2026
I rallied for our last temple of the morning, because I heard this one was unique and I think it was my favorite. Ta Prohm was built starting in 1186 by King Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and university dedicated to the king's mother. It was left mostly un-restored so that huge banyan and silk cotton trees grow directly over and through the walls. In 2001, the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie was filmed here.